Echoes of Paradise: the Garden and Flora in Islamic Art
The Role of Individual Plants and Flowers
‘Individual plants and flowers were often chosen for their religious or poetic significance.’
Muslim culture has always expressed a profound love for plants and flowers, and gardens were carefully cultivated. Many plants were chosen not only for their beauty or health-enhancing properties but also for their religious or poetic significance. As miracles of nature, they were yet another sign of the creative and life-giving powers of Allah. Their flowering and dying away every year invited contemplation of the human condition and Islam's promise of resurrection and eternal life in Paradise for all true believers.
Kaftan

Second half of hegira 10th / AD 16th century
Ottoman
Topkapı Palace Museum
Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Türkiye
This magnificent kaftan which belonged to a Turkish prince anticipates the exuberant flora of Paradise in its rich overall floral design.